We’ve heard there’s something happening in the US tonight. Not really sure what it is but everyone across the pond is getting in a frightful tizzy about it. Even game makers have been cashing in the action, whether it is for promotional purposes, satire or more serious interactive concepts. Here are five of the more interesting ideas…
5. LittleBigPlanet – if you want to usher in the victorious new leader of the free world, you’d better pop out to the shops right now and grab yourself a copy of LittleBigPlanet. Then you’ll need to find (or build) yourself the LittleBigPlanet voting machine and witness your chosen candidate storm his way to glory.
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4. The Sims 3 – Ever wondered what it would look like if Sarah Palin and John McCain danced around in swimwear, gibbering in Simlish. Nope, us neither. EA did though, and made a promo video about it, paving the way for The Sims 3 to be a platform for all manner of political satire once it launches.
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3. Mercenaries 2 – blowing the crap out of a South American jungle on the hunt for oil is probably right up a certain vice-presidential candidate’s street. Pandemic is going to release downloadable content for its sandbox shooter, Mercenaries 2, in the very near future, which will allow you to take control of a virtual Sarah Palin or Barack Obama inside the game world.
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2. Half Life 2 – The Source engine has been used for a huge number of things over the years, but this must be the first time it has been considered as a platform for political commentary. This mod demonstrates McCain and Obama on a debate stage, sounding off at the click of a button. We also hadn’t realised that a head crab was running for US president, but it gets our vote.
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1. Spore – Forget the USA; how would you like to conquer the very universe with your favourite politician? Maxis has kindly provided four politically themed spaceships to transport your Spore creatures around the galaxy, vaporising worlds with promises of change.
